Lion or Snake ?
by JFDragonfrostERERI
Summary: When Lance goes to University, he hopes to be able to share his room with Hunk. However, due to an administration mistake, Lance is forced to share his room with a prick called Keith. Not too much angst, just a little for character developpement.
1. chapter 1 : Friends and changes

The thing is, when you don't know how to start a story, you are lost.

Where to start ? What to say ? Which point of view should you use ? Should you use special voices for each character?

Starting a story is complicated, Lance knew that.

What he knew as well, was that this was a complicated story to tell. He feared his voice might break sometimes, or shake… Maybe he would shed a tear, he'd have to stop, take a breath, smile and reassure everyone that he was okay, that memories were just still fresh in his mind, that everything will be fine once he composes himself.

Yet, Lance knew how to start, what to say, or at least, what he WANTED to say… But not how to find the right words. He guessed he would have to.

Looking up, through the window, he watched the snow fall, a small grin finding its way onto his mouth.

"Well…. It's a wonderful story… let's see…."

This was the first time Lance was going to tell how he met Keith, it was a weird thing to do too; broadcasting your story as if it was a book for people to hear… He seemed to think for a bit, before looking at the snow again.

"To be honest, I have no idea where to start, but I think I'll manage to think of something…. Let's start with the beginning, around my last year of high school, when Pidge, Hunk, and Sincerely me were about to ace our exams and head off to university."

He chuckled lightly at the memories…

That's where the story should start…

Hunk tripped, his plate of food slipping from his hands, flipping in the air to land directly on top of the poor Lance's face, spaghetti and meatballs now hanging and dangling from his hair as sauce dripped down the arch of his nose slowly.

The brunet had frozen in place as his friend lost his balance right in front of him, unable to do anything to avoid the doom that was now falling upon him.

Slowly, Lance took the plate off his head and put it down, oh so gently on the table next to them, as the whole cafeteria burst out laughing.

As Hunk jumped up to apologise, Lance slowly wiped his face with his hands, only to rub them on his friend's face.

Hunk looked at him wide eyed before smirking. "Oh you're on McClain !" He laughed, grabbing someone's mashed potatoes to throw them at Lance who brilliantly avoided the shot.

This is how, at the start of their two last weeks before their exams, Lance and Hunk started a food fight so massive that it sent them into the Principal's office, then the janitor office.

They spent at least a whole day and a whole night cleaning every smallest portion of the dining hall, talking about all and nothing, while Pidge was sat in a corner on her laptop, working and revising.

"Say guys, we are all still going to the same uni next year right… ? I mean…" Hunk looked around as he sat down, mop in hand. " I don't know what I'd do without you guys… I'd be totally lost and missing you and crying in bed with ice cream, watching Bridget Jones and remembering the good old days."

Pidge snorted while Lance just raised an eyebrow at Hunk, lips parted in what one could describe as the most perfect 'What the flip' face ever.

"Hunk, of course we are still going to the same university! I need to be your roommate too ! We would never leave you behind even if we are going to go through different courses."

The female in the corner spoke up with a smile, eyes still laid on her screen " I mean, someone needs to check on you two doofuses to make sure you don't burn the whole campus down am I right ?"

"Ha-HA YOU ARE HILARIOUS PIDGE !" Lance yelled with a fake laugh. "We are almost eighteen we can care for ourselves without acting like idiots you know."

"Yeah, may I remind you that you are saying this while scrubbing the floor of the dining hall because you made a food fight."

"...That's a bad example." He stated, to which she replied with a small "uh-huh~".

Lance decided to focus back on his scrubbing, getting lost in the back and forth movement of the mop he held in his hands, eyes focused on nothing, his mind wandered off to what would happen to them in the future… What if they didn't manage to enter the same university ? Even if Lance wanted to study arts, he was scared that he would not be accepted.. Pidge and Hunk were geniuses, becoming engineers was almost in their blood. But Lance ? He had struggled for years to find exactly what he should do… What he wanted to do… He was still confused, he had always been quite artsy, he even liked to do some sewing when he was a kid, they called him the "Tailor" because of how he could thread a needle. However now it was more complicated, he had bigger hands after all…

Off topic.

Lance had been confused with himself these last years… His dates with girls never ended up well and he had ended up wondering what was wrong with him, why people never stayed, it was complicated. And he had grown tired of thinking so much, deciding to let it slide for now, and focus on his future and studies, instead of just living with complications and focusing on his messy love life.

Altaugh nothing could stop him from being a flirt, you can't change a man, and certainly not a Lance.

He took his headphones from his pocket and turned on spotify, putting in a playlist he had made a few days before, basically repeating the same song, starships by the pitch perfect cast ! Hell yeah, you bet Lance was now jamming like an idiot. If someone had made a side by side comparaison with Queen's "I want to Break free" Video, that would have been the most accurate resemblance.

Lance was twirling naturally, moving his hips as the broom he was now holding slid across the floor.

He jumped around and sang along with a wide grin, finally distracted from his bizare taughts.

"HANDS UP AND TOUCH THE SKYYYY , CAN'T STOP CAUSE WE'RE SO HIIIIIIGH ! LET'S DO THIS ONE LAST TIIIIME! " He dropped the broom and started dancing around, putting the song on speaker, jumping on the tables.

Lance was loose, no way of getting him back, both Pidge and Hunk knew this, wich was probably the reason why they decided to get up and dance too. Twerking may have ensued, no one is really sure, it's all a blur really.

But maybe a teacher came in and they got punished.

Maybe.

This would always be a great memory to Lance, like a calm before the storm.

He felt content, knowing things may change, but that some things would remain good, like a distant memory. And that was enough for now.


	2. Chapter 2 : Exams

The first exams had passed. Lance had made a good use of his detention to work, even though he was a lazy ass, he had desperately needed some math practice.

Lance sucked at maths, and he wanted to make these exams the best he could so he would be able to relax during vacation.  
He had already planned everything! He was planning on going back to Cuba with his family. A part of them were here with him in California, yet he missed his grandma, his little Yaya as he liked to call her.  
His two sisters were also still there, Beatrice and Elizabeth.  
Bea, as she was the oldest, had the task of caring for their Yaya since the older woman lived alone.

On her side, Liz was born in Cuba, and was too young to move to their mother's taste, so Lola, Lance's mom, had decided to stay in cuba, for Little Liz to be able to learn where she came from.  
Lance had started living here in California a few years ago to get into the school he wanted, and lived with his big brother, Rafael.

They had moved into a smallish apartment near Lance's school when he was only 13, Rafael being around 18 at the time.

Lance shook these thoughts away and put his bag down in his room, sitting at his desk and, taking out his Literature textbook, he begun to revise for his next exam ; English lit.  
It was a subject Lance liked, so it was easier to work on then maths, wich he would have next week.

Man, Lance hated maths. He didn't have that kind of intelligence ! His mind was like a bubble bath! Ideas floating like bubbles to the surface, he had to make them happen before the bubble would pop and be gone forever.  
Lance lived right here right now, he wasn't "Logical", he wasn't the calculative type of guy. He had bursts of emotions, of thoughts and had to accomplish them, whether it was by painting, writing or acting, he had to just do it!  
Lance was the type of guy to just not be able to stay in place for one second, and thus, he stood up from his desk and began pacing the room, talking to himself, and reading aloud to be sure he would get what the lesson was about.

He may have looked stupid, but he was actually getting it, memorising the different themes they had learned over the past months.

"And this is why the oxford comma is the most important, yet most forgotten of all'.  
Putting down his book Lance smirked and started shaking his hips a little "I did it~ did it~did iiiit~ I finiiiished !" He chanted softly as he hopped around, soon freezing as he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Are you finished working ?"

Lance immediately flipped around to find his brother standing in the doorway, leaning on the frame with a smile. He nodded quickly in response, a smile forming on his own lips as well.

"Yup! You know me I love this subject !"

"I have been listening to you pacing and talking to yourself for the past four hours, so Yeah, I know you like this subject. How about pizza and a movie ? You worked hard so you deserve it."

"HELL YEAH ! But! I do not want to taste pineapple pizza ! Nothing will ever convince me to try that horrid mistake!"

"...Lance, you ate chocolate pizza last week." Rafael deadpanned, making Lance freeze.

"Touché brother."

Rafael chuckled, tying his longer hair in a bun. He sighed and looked at his younger brother fondly.

"Avanzar Lance. Shower before the food gets cold." His accent appeared for a second before disappearing, leaving its place to his now perfect English.

"Sí hermano" The younger said with a smile as he walked out his room into the corridor, his accent appearing as well, as if it never left.

A few minutes later, the two brothers were in the couch together. Rafael was trying his best to annoy Lance in all possible ways, starting with putting pineapple bits on his pizza, switching to pulling on his pajamas before he took out his most dreaded weapon: the tickles.

Lance was extremely ticklish and always struggled against his bigger, buffer brother. As he desperately reached for the edge of the couch, screaming and pleading, he felt tears form in the corners of his eyes, his belly muscles tightening and twisting themselves into pain from the uncontrollable laughter that was escaping his lips.

"¡para! Por favor ! AAAAHAHAHAHA !" Lance kicked and squirmed, finally escaping the tickle hell that was his brother. As he laid panting on the floor he mumbled a small; "poner en la película que ratas…" To which Rafael laughed, putting in the movie as asked.

"Very well Junior, but I win."

"Yes yes you win mister boss man."

Both spent an evening in peace. The next day, Lance was ready and kicking. Impatient to pass his exam.  
His afternoons were pretty much all the same for the rest of his school days. he went trough maths somehow, aced his english exam just as he taught, and did pretty well in the other classes.

Finally freedom was calling him, finally he could apply to his dream university, do something he may like, focus on himself and spend time with his whole family.

He longed for them very badly these days, and being in the same house as Rafael reminded him of the rest, of his sisters, his mother Lola, his sisters. He missed them so much.  
He stopped walking and looked over to Hunk and Pidge who had also stopped in their tracks, waiting for their friend.

"Lance ? C'mon we have our degrees ! Let's get outta here !"

The brunet smiled and turned to the hallway of their old school.

"Let me just….. make one last goodbye."

Pidge and Hunk both smiled and gave a nod, looking at each other they seemed to agree, joining Lance for his little speech.

"Speak, oh wise one." Said Pidge, waiting for Lance to start.

" Well, Goodbye South california High. I'll miss you you know. I learned a lot here…

You taught me maths, sadly, and Literature, and History… But you also taught me how to find myself, how to grow up.  
You gave me wonderful gifts; two friends that will be by my side forever, a scar on my knee somehow, and some wonderful memories.  
I got rejected in your west hallway, I got slapped under the tree near Building B, my experiment exploded in your lab !  
I guess we all grow up, we all change, you will change too ! You have changed in the short time we were here.  
I just know that we will never forget each other, I left you nice memories too; I drew in the bathroom, engraved my name on the roof… There is also a picture of me in the Janitor's office, fixed onto a darts game, he surely will remember me." Hunk snorted, trying to contain his laughter.  
"So yeah, we all grow up, I've had ups, downs between these walls, but you made me into who I am now. anew day is starting for me.  
I'm flipping the page of the book that is my life and starting a new chapter. I hope You stay here for a long time, I hope I'll come back and see you again. I'll miss running through your halls, banging my fist against your lockers to open them up, climbing on your roof even though it was prohibited.

May you have a great, long life, South California High.  
Pidge, Hunk, And I , the great Lance McClain, are out now. Let's start this new day."

Lance smiled, keeping his eyes on the school, walking backwards till he could see the sign indicating the school's name. Pidge and Hunk clapping as they watched him.

He put his hand on top of his head like some military salute and grinned. "Bye Felicia~" He laughed and ran off, both His friends following along.

"First one to get there buys the other's milkshakes !"

"You can dream Hunk ! I barely have any money!"

"I'll get them anyways guys~"

"Thanks Lance !"

Yeah… It was time for a new, fresh start. Another new day. With new surprises.


	3. Chapter 3 : Moving out, moving in

"You are SURE you have everything you need right hermanito ?"

Lance looked around his room, before looking back up at his brother. "Rafael I haven't even started packing yet."

His suitcase was open on his bed, some things from his trip to his parent's home already inside of it.  
His closets were open, ready to be emptied, and he had started taking out a few things from his drawers already.  
Rafael smiled, looking at Lance he shook his head.

"No I meant, do you need me to go buy you anything ?"

Lance looked around with a small smile, packing for university was certainly different than packing for a holiday. He could always come back home, but it was almost two hours away from his university, so he better not be forgetting anything.  
He looked at his old computer on his desk, his old sheets, his books… Lance would miss this room so much, but he was excited on top of all.

"Well, I may need some rope to tie my shelves together in the car, and maybe a big box to pack my computer ?".

Looking back at his brother, he saw the older was smirking. Not your usual happy normal smirk though, it looked like he had some idea in his head, or like he was plotting something secretive. Lance frowned seeing this expression he knew so well after so many years of being played with by his brother.

"What's the smile for?"

"What smile ?"

"Oh do not lie to me my brethren! I know the smile of secretive supreme secrets! I have seen it way too many times! Explain your evil plans to me or i shall make you perish !"

"Drama queen."

"I'll let that slide and take it as a compliment. Now, what's the smirk for ?"

"Well, the box will not be necessary, you aren't taking your computer with you."

"Rafael, It's university, I NEED my computer to write my essays and papers, I'm not going to be doing only drawings, I also have Literature and Art history to learn."

"I know that, I didn't say you wouldn't be having a computer either."  
The younger looked at his brother curiously before piecing one and one together. Eyes widening, he let his mouth open slowly and his jaw fall to the ground.  
He did NOT ! Rafael had told him so many times that they did not have the money to afford something like this, that they were tight and that it was a lot, that it was unnecessary!

"Rafael are you tricking me because it is simply impossible that you-"  
As Lance was talking, Rafael had reached to the side and picked up a box, presenting it in front of his hyperactive brother.

A Macbook Air. Lance's dream laptop, there in front of him, after all this time spent in front of an old, slow, virus infected computer, he could finally have a new, fresh, competent laptop.  
Another brand would have been fine, but this would ideally have been the most convenient to Lance.

"Oh my god…"

"It isn't new though, I had to buy it second hand but I had a friend checking it over and really it's as good as new. you just have to transfer all your things from your old computer to this one and you'll be good to go. It's totally refreshed."

The teen took the box and gently put it down before jumping into his brother's arms to embrace him.

"Rafael you are the best ! I don't care if it's new or not this will be sooo convenient you are saving me ! I can't thank you enough! "

"Hey you deserve it, you really did your best even though you slacked off during your first years." He ruffled Lance's hair with a wide grin and pulled back.

"You better prepare it tonight so it's ready when you arrive in your dorm. You still have a week left to pack anyways."

"Will do, thanks so much man!" Lance let go of the embrace, immediately focused on his new laptop now.

As his last week home passed, Lance begun to realise how much his life was changing all of a sudden. He had started taking notice of this when he left his old High School, but seeing his room empty itself, his computer being abandoned, his closet containing less and less clothes, he felt anxiety bubble up into his stomach and take over his thoughts.  
He hoped he would be able to fit in, make friends other than Hunk and Pidge, and please let him make this year a success.  
Soon they were checking a list, both brother in Lance's room, Rafael looking at his paper.

"Toothbrush ?"  
"Yup!"  
"Laptop?"  
"Ya bet!"  
"Head ?"  
"haha very funny"

"Clothes?"  
"Duh."  
"Confidence?"  
"Halfway there."  
"Pack of candy to greet people from your dorm?"  
"Yes! Thanks for the tip by the way! Like, I am probably going to share my dorm with Hunk, but I will have to befriend the other people on my floor."  
"No problem hermano, Socks and underwear ? "  
"Yes mother."

Rafael rolled his eyes and took out another box. "Maybe just add this to the rest."

"You got me ANOTHER present ?!" Lance opened the wrapping paper quickly and came upon a Large pinning board with pictures of the whole family, of Lance as a child, his sisters, these last holidays, his mother and father, Rafael and him when they moved in. Lance almost felt tears coming up and flooding his eyes. From the two presents he had gotten, this one was the most precious.

"To decorate your room, so you have us with you everyday".

"Rafael ! This is so great! oh my god….¡Eress el mejor!"

"Sí, sé que soy." the older smiled and embraced his little brother. Lance sniffled and he laughed. "Are you crying ?!"

"No, your stupid long hair is in my nose, pull back before i blow my nose in it."

"NOOOO!" He pulled back with a laugh and looked around. "Well then, ready to go ?"

Lance gave one last look at the apartment, swallowing his saliva that suddenly felt so thick in his throat.  
He smiled, giving a small nod, mentally saying his goodbyes to this place. Goodbye for now, till he comes back.

"Here we go!"

After two hours on the road, Lance and Rafael were being guided to the new 'casa McClain" as lance liked to call it already.  
However, they were met with a surprise when they realised Hunk was in the room at then end of the hall, and did not share it with Lance like they had planned.  
They put their stuff down and quickly went over to someone who could help them, asking for what was wrong, why were they not together like requested ? Had there been a problem?  
As it turns out, yes. school administration was a failure and Lance had been put in a room with an absolute stranger.

After a good half an hour of begging to be changed, and being told that, sadly, it was too late and impossible, Lance decided to let go and hope for the best.  
He wanted to enjoy his brother's company for the last remaining hours they had left, and both decided to go unpack instead of bickering.

They put on Lance's sheets, his laptop, stored up his clothes, added his bookshelf and organised everything that needed to be.  
The youngest brunet finished it off by putting up the pinboard he was given by Rafael, smiling as he pulled back, hands on his hips with a satisfied look.

"Home sweet campus I guess!"

"Hey, I'll miss you hermanito~ I'm very proud of you, do your best.." He quickly put Lance's drawing board on his desk and smiled, embracing his brother.

"I'll miss you too Rafael, be safe on the way back, don't drink and drive, wear clean underwear, and don't leave the fridge open."

"Yes mom."

Their embrace was interrupted by a small, raspy voice, and a cough.

"Uhm… Excuse me? I was told this is my room…"


	4. Chapter 4 : The red Boy

Lance turned around immediately, looking at the door as he heard the new, unknown voice come up. Breaking his brother and hi's embrace, he pulled back to be able to face the newcomer.

He did not know WHAT he was expecting, but it probably wasn't this.

The boy in front of him was wearing an almost blood red leather jacket, a black t-shirt, some ripped black skinny jeans that seemed to have been puked up by a Hot Topic store, and actual leather fingerless gloves.  
Around his neck was a small chain, the pendant hidden by the black fabric of his shirt.

Unconsciously, Lance's eyes stared him up and down, ending up on his beige Timberland boots, quite an odd combo when you consider all the black he was wearing. They were worn out a bit, yet you could see the boy took care of them.

Going back up his form, the brunet's eyes landed on his face.  
He was a raven, with a haircut that could be described as a mullet, or one of these asian boy-band haircuts, where the top of his head had more hair, showing more volume, and the lengths of it were cut thinner, stopping by his shoulders in soft waves.  
The top of his voluminous emo-ish hair was wavy as well, Lance could almost distinguish a few curls here and there, but the boy's hair was so dark he was not sure.

Looking back down from the messy locks, he was met with almond-shaped eyes, almost like he had asian blood in him, but not quite, with thick lashes and Irises tinted with blues, reds, and.. Was that purple ? Were purple eyes a real thing ? They did not look like contacts so Lance deduced that it must have been real.

Gaze lowering once more, his pupils slid from the boy's eyes down the bridge of his slightly turned up nose.

Once his inspection finished Lance deduced that this guy had a horrible sense of fashion. Who even wears a mullet anymore except Billy Ray Cyrus ?! No, don't answer, because the correct answer is : no one bloody should.

"Are you Keith ?"

"No my name is George I'm the janitor."

"Ha-ha aren't you a funny one ?"

"At least I don't stare people up and down when I meet someone."

Ouch, touché. Lance had fallen, and he couldn't get up. Rafael on his side was just plain out mocking Lance, laughing and making fun of him, whispering that he, quote, "just got burned".

"Hey my bad we are going to have to spend a lot of time here together so I wanted to see what I was sharing my room with."

"Excuse me ? I am the one who will have to share my room with you !"

"Oh yeah ? And why is that so mister know-it-all ?"

"Because, dingus, I was actually asked to come to this university after ranking highest in my previous high-school in Texas."

Lance's jaw snapped close. Of course he had to share his room with an obnoxious gifted dude. He tried to think of something to snap back at him but his mind was stuck on one thing ; Texas.

"Wait, if you are from Texas, where are your stetson hat and cowboy boots ?"

That was the straw for Rafael who burst out laughing, not only because the joke was stupid, but also because Lance actually sounded genuinely interested.  
Keith on the other hand did not seem to laugh as much, groaning and rolling his eyes so far up his skull that they might get stuck there forever.  
He replied with a harsh tone.

"Oh I don't know where they are, have you looked up your ass ?"

Yet again the brunette was reduced to silence. He was hesitating between finding an insult to throw the ball back at him, or kneeling and declaring him his new master.  
But Lance was stubborn.

"No I haven't, but my ass is so fine everyone looks at it so, if your stuff is really stuck up there, maybe one of the people in the hallway can tell you."

Keith almost smiled, and Lance knew this because he had noticed the smallest upturn of his lips, like twitching.

"Jesus Christ man what the fuck…"

"Ha! I win!"

The raven shrugged, putting down his suitcase, and walked forward extending his hand to them.

"I'm Keith Kogane. Nice to meet you, I hope we spend an okay year together."

"Lance McClain, same for me Keith, I hope we will manage to get along…. Somehow."

Keith raised a brow and said with a smirk.

"I play a lot of banjo and listen to country music non-stop."

"Get out of this room, and walk off a cliff."

"No thanks I would rather not."

Rafael ended up breaking the argument by tapping his brother's shoulder.

"Hey hermanito I really have to go now okay ? Call me tomorrow when you are all done and settled down okay ? And don't forget to call Mamá and Yaya."

"Sí hermano, prometo que lo haré."

"Buen. Have a good time you guys. And Keith, if my little brother here acts like a goddamn idiot, you have my permission to slap him. Also, he will help you settle down your stuff. Bye boys!"

"Adiós Rafael, te extrañaré!"

"Yo también"

Rafael walked out with a last wave, leaving his brother alone with the mullet-headed asshole that was Keith.  
Turning around, Lance offered his help to unpack, which Keith gladly accepted.  
To the brunet's surprise, Keith did not have a lot of boxes or suitcases; he mainly had clothing, books, a laptop, and his bedding.

After a while of cleaning and doing the most of what they had, both boys sat down together on their carpet, Lance's carpet, and shared candy, door wide open for people to join them.  
Soon, Hunk and Pidge walked in.  
The smaller female smiled with a wave.

"Hi guys ! Hi man I'm Pidge and this is Hunk, we are friends of Lance's."

"Hi my name is Keith nice to meet you."

"Mind if we join in on the snacks ? I brought drinks and Hunk took some pumpkin pie from home."

"Sounds good I guess." He shrugged leaving them some space and taking his phone to put on some music on his speaker. Lance gave him the side eye.

"I swear to god if you put on country music…."

Keith smirked, pressing play, as the sound of banjo filled the room, along with a loud groan coming from a certain Cuban boy.

Yes… certainly this year would be..Interesting.


	5. Chapter 5 : Stop touching my shit !

"STOP PLAYING "COTTON EYED JOE" KEITH ! I AM GOING FUKEN CRAZY !"

"I'LL STOP PLAYING IT WHEN YOU STOP SNORING SO LOUD AND MOVING MY STUFF AROUND TO TAKE MY STORAGE SPACE"

"OH PLEASE YOU BARELY HAVE ANY STUFF TO BEGIN WITH"

Keith shut his mouth and groad, looking away. As soon as he opened his mouth again a voice came up from the corridor, loud and stern, it was obviously a female's, and so much more obviously Pidge's.

"SHUT. THE FUCK. UP."

The raven groaned and shut his mouth. Angering Lance ? Yes, that was fine, Lance was an asshole and got on his nerves anyways. But Pidge ? Hell no. She was the most awesome human he had met here yet, and probably the only one he considered a friend for now.  
Hunk was fine too, he just had gotten less chances to talk to him these first few weeks, and Keith hardly gave his trust and friendship to anyone, so let's say it was a miracle that he let Pidge be so close to him. But she was patient, stern, and she did not fuck around, which honestly, Keith liked.

He was happy to have been able to get a friend so soon, and was grateful Lance had introduced them. But Lance was a twat that literally invaded Keith's personal space.  
Just the other day, as Keith came back from classes, he had surprised the boy sitting on his bed, butt on his pillow, and reading one of his books while eating chips.

Yeah, Lance was a twat.  
It did not mean however, that Lance was bad company. Surprisingly, he was reliable and was a great cook, on contrary to the raven who's cooking skills were limited to pasta, pasta, toast, warming up microwave food,and pasta.

"Fine…. Listen Lance, just… Please at least ask before you take my stuff ! I don't mind sharing but just give me a warning ! We have to make this work and we are disturbing everyone here so just make an effort and get some manners."

Lance groaned, tensing up when keith told him to get manners. He considered himself well educated but Keith had a point; he had been purposely rude to annoy him, which obviously did not make things better.

"Okay but please stop putting on country music to annoy me."

"You do realise it annoys me just as much right ? I like to listen to other bands ! I mean I like some country music but not all of them! I'll go nuts if I listen to cotton eyed Joe one more time just like you!"

"Okay well… why don't you put on something you usually listen to ? If I don't like it then we can just alternate when we put on our music I guess, and if I like it then yeah just put on your music."

"...Do you like My Chemical Romance?"

"OH FOR FUCK'S SAKE !"

"What it's a good band ?!"

"You are SO emo! "

"So what ?"

Lance shut his mouth in defeat. Yeah, they actually had great and iconic songs he lust admit, and some of the lyrics even struck him right in the heart. He sighed, nodding a little.

"Fine, anything else ?"

"AViVA is also cool."

"Aviva ?"

"Yeah, in all caps except for the 'i'. It isn't very known I landed on it by accident. wanna give it a listen ?"

"Sure why not."

Keith nodded, taking his phone and put on the speaker. Soon a sound between electro and some kind of pop-rock came through the speaker. Lance listened to the lyrics, looking at the floor, nodding his head to the rhythm of the drum and bass line.

"Fake faces hiding everywhere  
Made up, makeup, made up stares  
To hide their stolen air  
Don't look too close, don't you dare  
Stupid seems to be in the air, in my air, everywhere  
Blameless I'll shatter through the glare  
Make it, take it, they won't share

I can't fake it, I'll just make it on my own (on my own)  
I can't blame them, I'll just maim them on my throne (on my throne)  
I can't fake it, I'll just make it on my own  
I can't blame them, I just got to get to my throne"

For a brief moment Lance wanted to chuckle, the lyrics were very emo-like, even though they were quite inspiring, deciding to be yourself no matter what people say, not faking what you like and who you are in favor of having everyone like you.  
The chorus came up, and Lance looked up to see Keith mouthing the lyrics, tapping the rhythm with his fingertips on his knee, sat on the floor in front of him. He was perfectly in time and mouthed every word distinctively.

"I am the latest colors, I sing the newest songs  
I read all the lyrics, so I can sing along  
I am the latest colors, I stand above my throne  
Waiting for an invite to never come along  
I am the latest colors, I sing the newest songs  
I read all the lyrics, so I can sing along  
I am the latest colors, I hate the newest songs  
I can't stand the lyrics, I'd never sing along

I'll never sing along  
La-la-la-la-la-la-la  
La-la-la-la-la-la-la  
I'll never sing along  
La-la-la-la-la-la-la  
La-la-la-la-la-la-la  
I'll never sing along"

Very contradictory, But strangely Lance liked it. He really did, the rhythm and voice were extremely pleasant, he was not against the idea of listening to more of keith's music.

"That was pretty good, actually. You don't have bad music taste for someone with a mullet."

"It's not a mullet. I told you so many times."

"Find a name for it and I'll call it that, till then I'm calling it a fucking mullet."

"Whatever I guess like I care anyways."

"Jesus you are so emo. I swear to god."

"God can't help you now Keith, you are probably going to hell for listening to so much MCR."

"At least if I go to hell I can beat up Hitler."

The Cuban froze, looking over to him with a "what the fuuuuuuu-" expression on his face as he started muttering many, many things in his home town's spanish, which Keith absolutely did not understand.  
He stood up with a groan, dusting his knees.

"Anyways, stop touching my shit."

"Yes mother I promise I will be a good boy."

"Shut the fuck up also."

"Puedes irte a la mierda también señor."

"AND STOP INSULTING ME IN SPANISH !"


	6. Chapter 6 : Discovering Keith

"He is already sixteen years old. It's too old for us, in two years he will be gone, we can't afford to foster him."

"No no we don't know where he was before, plus he is a teen boy, he could be aggressive or have behaviour issues we don't know about !"

"He is way too defensive, no one wants a child like that."

"No one will want him. It's too late for him, I bet he already knows too."

"And what is his name ? Keith ?"

Keith awoke with sweat dripping down his forehead, panting a little, blinking vividly to shake away the memories that had flooded back during his sleep.  
He looked over to his roommate who was sleeping soundly.  
Who was he kidding ? Lance snored louder than an albanian field wench. A deep sigh escaped his lips as sat up, hopped out of bed and walked to their small fridge to get some water.  
He eyed the tupperware that had a yellow note on top saying ; 'Lance's chocolate pudding DO NOT TOUCH'.  
He rolled his eyes. Keith needed comfort by now, and the best comfort he knew was comfort by food. And pudding was worth all the angry Lances in the world.  
He picked up the tupperware and sat on his bed, staring at the sleeping brunet with a death glare, hoping Lance would sense the negativity and have bad dreams just like Keith did.

He sat back, leaning on the wall, spoon in his mouth, his mind wandering off.  
Times had been rough, yet why was he still thinking about that ? It was finished now. Keith was having a new, fresh start ! So why oh why was he struggling to move on so much ? His parents had passed away years ago… It was unreasonable, childish to still act like a baby.

Sighing, he finished the pudding and washed the bowl before sitting back in bed. He had to be better, do things perfectly. Maybe this way he would persevere ? He needed to move on, and focus.  
Focus Keith.

He sighed and decided to do the only thing that would really relax him.  
When he was younger, he had came across this video called "daft hands". At that time it was the coolest thing he had ever seen, and he had practiced again and again, over and over to master the art of the hand rhythm.

It was silly really, he could have learned to play an instrument; but no ! Child Keith wanted to smother his hands in sharpie and listen to Daft Punk over and over.  
But in the end it had become something he would do on a regular basis to distract himself.

Taking a sharpie from his desk, and his phone from his nightstand, he plugged in his headphones before plopping them on his head.  
He wrote over his fingers and pressed play, breathing in and out slowly, closing his eyes in an attempt to empty his mind.  
As soon as the lyrics kicked in, Keith's instincts flooded over. Years of practice and perseverance made him automatically mouth the lyrics and move his fingers right in time with the song.

"Work it

Make it  
Do it  
Make us

Harder  
Better  
Faster  
Stronger

More than  
Hour  
Our  
Never

Ever  
After  
Work is  
Over"

Opening his eyes he found his gaze totally focused on his hands, although he knew his eyes looked empty and unfocused, he was like in a secondary mental state, as if he was meditating. Everyone had weird, awkward ways of calming themselves. Maybe Keith was the weirdest.

Scratch that: To Keith himself, he WAS the weirdest. But at least it worked. this song reminded him of what he needed to be. Better, stronger than everyone. Stronger than himself, stronger than his feelings.  
He would always be like this, a struggle a burden, and he knew he would always try again and again to make himself better.  
Up till now he taught he was miserably failing, but when he got the invitation from the university, he began to be convinced otherwise; maybe if he kept going, he would not be such a failure.

His hands moved faster, he felt his own breath escaping his lips as he muttered the words soundlessly, lifting finger after finger, moving his hands faster, eyes darting from his index to his pinkie back and forth again and again.

"Work it harder  
Make it better  
Do it faster  
Makes us stronger

More than ever  
Hour after  
Our work is  
Never over"

Keith wasn't done, his work had only just begun, he could not stop, not give up, not now, he could not stay in this numb state he was in.  
He needed to build up courage, get some nerves for himself, make everything good. He saw himself like a robot. Yet he was too slow. It was like Keith needed an update or something. It may seem total bullshit but he was lost yet at the same time he felt like he was trying to go somewhere.

When the song ended, Keith sighed, and did it again, and again, harder, better, faster, stronger.

"Yo Keith! Bud, wake up ! Wash your face it's full of sharpie what the fuck did you do last night ? You ate all my pudding then fell asleep with your fucking headphones on man! Get up or you will be late for class!"

"Huh ? What ?!"

"GET THE FUCK UP !"

"OW DON'T SCREAM IN MY EARS"

Lance groaned and slammed his pillow on Keith's head, making said dark-haired boy fall back onto the bed with a groan.

"Fuck you Lance."

"Fuck me ?! You wish ! hell no Keith you ate my pudding and this will not go unpunished! You will become the victim of my wrath!"

"Oh. My. God."

"You look just like Shakira, no no ! You're Katherine Zeta ! Actually, My name's Marina~"

There was a long silence in the room as Keith looked up to see a smirking and proud Lance McClain.

"Did you just quote Marina and the Diamonds ?"

"Yes I did. What ? I'm just spreading the holy word to the people."

The raven frowned with a sigh and shook his head.

"I have to say Lance, you do impress me…"

" Ah thank you Keith !"

"By being a clueless moron, all of the time."

"Well, that wasn't remotely nice."

Keith rolled his eyes as far as they could possibly go and stood up.

"By the way man you have sharpie all over your face. I would have given you makeup remover but you can go fuck yourself now."

" I don't need it anyways. I have wipes."

"Why do you have makeup wipes ?"

"Why do YOU have makeup remover ?"

"...Okay you got me."

Keith sighed, looking at himself in the mirror he quickly wiped his face and fingers clean.  
He looked like a fucking corpse. This had to stop, for once and for all.


	7. Author's Note

Hi guys ! Just a quick note to tell you That I am entering Exam's season and I sadly will not be able to post one chapter a day till end of January.

It's my first year of university so I have to study a lot.

No worries taugh because I will take breaks from revision to write, however chapters may come slower.

Thanks so much for understanding ! See you soon love you all !


	8. Chapter 7: Talk to him

"Hey, what was all that stuff with the sharpie about ? You fell asleep smothered in black, covered all over your hands and stuff."

"How about you mind your own business Lance? "

"Nope, you have to pay for the crime that was you eating my pudding !"

Keith rolled his eyes getting his timberlands from under his bed. He was tired, Lance had kept him up almost all week to unravel the mystery of Keith's Sharpie fingers.  
Of course, keith had refused many times. Lance should stay in his place and stop putting his nose in other people's lives.

"C'mon Keith why won't you tell me ?! Like it's a super weird thing! It's not like i'm asking something very personal or anything !"

The raven snapped, a string in his head getting loose, and that string was called "patience".  
Turning quickly towards Lance, he stood up and faced him with a scowl, a glare so cold Lance almost froze to place, feeling he had overcome Keith's boundaries.

"Hey man, listen I-"

"NO Lance! I have listened to you enough ! I have listened to you moan and groan and plead, and tire me out for a whole week ! Learn how to take no for an answer for fuck's sake! Get your head out of your ass ! You are so self-centered ! You just won't leave people alone till you get what you want! You only care about how pleased you will be ! Leave me alone ! You don't know me! You don't know my life ! How can you guess that It wasn't something personal ?! How DARE you make assumptions while you have only known me for what? Two months ?! I am sick, and tired of you already ! You have done nothing good to make this situation work ! All this time you have just been a pain in my ass! Sometimes I even wonder how your friends tolerate you ! Jesus even Rafael must be happy having a break from you annoyingly loud mouth ! For once in your life : PISS OFF !"

Lance fell silent, looking at the floor, half ashamed and half hurt from Keith's words. Keith himself took his bag from the ground and left the room to go to class, needing to breathe in some fresh air.

His mind was already bugging him. He knew he had been harsh to Lance. Bringing his brother into the argument was a low blow. Plus, Lance had been useful before; He had helped Keith finding good ways of organising himself, always found the stuff Keith lost, and he was a good cook and actually fed Keith decent meals, which he would never do himself.

He decided to stop and turn back the opposite way to join Pidge. She would be honest with him and he still owed her a Haircut from when Lance stuck gum into his hair so Keith would cut his mullet.  
It didn't work though; Katie had put an icecube onto the gum and it had just fallen off after a while.

Thus he ditched his morning class to join her in her dorm.

"Pidge ? Can I come in ? It's Keith, I wanna talk…"

"Sure come in man !"

He nodded to himself, opening the door and entering to join the cross-legged female on the floor. He sighed loudly and dropped his bag to sit down himself.

"What did Lance do again ?"

"Well, you know how he has been annoying me an awful lot these days right ?"

"..Yeah ? "

"This morning he keeps bugging me about that time I woke up with sharpie all over, and then he goes : "it' not like I'm asking something personal" And I just burst at him Pidge ! I mean, I kinda regret it I know he is a super nice dude but, I just couldn't take that answer ! He had been bugging me so much and just acted like he was allowed to because he taught it was not something private ! Basing himself on his assumptions to basically harass me all day and night !"

Pidge listened calmly before putting her laptop aside and finally looking up at Keith.

"And what did you say to him ?"

Keith let out a sigh and looked down.

"I told him that I didn't know how you guys tolerated him, and that Rafael must be happy to get a break from him."

Not one second later Pidge's hand was smacking the back of Keith's head violently.

"OW ! I deserved that…"

"Look, Keith, I know Lance is a complicated one. I had a hard time actually tolerating him at the start just like you. But one thing you have to know is that, even though it may not look like it, Lance is shy, and awkward. He wants to look cool and confident but he isn't and that is why he is an annoying prick most of the time. But you know he is a cool guy, and I do too. He just asks for… A LOT of patience. He went to far. He did. But Keith I think he just really wants to know you better. You guys could be good friends if you talked more and didn't bicker so much you see ?  
I know it's complicated for you but, it could be a good thing if you opened up to us a little, when you feel like it's a good time, when you are ready."

" I don't know Pidge…"

"At least talk to Lance, not about you but about ...stuff ? And apologise to him, I believe he will too. He doesn't want to be irritating and a bother, he just tries in his own weird way."

Keith looked at the floor before nodding.

"I guess I'll try."

"Good, well now you are late for your class anyways so what do you want to do ?"

"How about we get you rid of that ponytail like you wanted ?"

"You would ?!"

"Yeah I promised I would so … what would you like ?"

"Well, when my hair gets short it gets wavy ? So I was thinking of kind of like a pixie cut, but shorter underneath ?"

"Yeah sure I can do that, no problem. I'll just go get my stuff, I think Lance left for his class anyways."

"Okay thanks Keith! "

He smiled and stood up, turning around and walking back to his dorm.  
He was surprised to find the door open though, and as he entered, being met with Lance, he felt really awkward.  
Keith felt like he should say something, Lance had turned and was now staring at him. It was obvious he was filled with mixed feelings, between anger, sadness, regret. Keith knew he had to talk first, he was at fault as well.  
Taking a deep breath he said.

"It's a technique I practiced when I was a kid to help me sleep."

Lance's brows relaxed slowly, his look turning curious as he looked at the dark haired boy in the doorway.

" I don't want to talk about it too much because it's one of those things that I'm not ready to tell you yet" He continued. " But, I'd like to get to know you better to eventually get there. I apologise, I think Rafael misses you a lot, he probably thinks about you a lot as well, I shouldn't have brought him into this. But, to be honest that really was not cool man."

Lance turned his chair to him and gave a small, confused yet reassured smile.  
"I'm sorry too, I don't want to stay mad. I know I pushed your boundaries and I apologise …. It was rude of me to assume these things and, not getting the idea you might have a reason not to tell me."

Keith smiled back and nodded, relief finally flooding over his body as he realised he forgave Lance.

"Honestly, you aren't useless, you really cook great and if it wasn't for you I'd probably have lost all of my stuff already."

The Cuban boy chuckled and stood up with a grin, shaking his head.

"I'm making pizza tonight, you bring deserts, and we can just talk."

"Sounds good to me, we should watch a movie maybe ? Just in case we are to awkward ?"

"Yeah why not ? One we both saw though, so we can talk and not miss important parts."

"Of course, I have to go do Pidge's hair right now, wanna tag along ?"

"Nah I'll leave you be Hot Topic, I have a project to work on."

"Awww you think I'm hot, thanks Lance!" Keith joked as he took his bag of brushes and razors before leaving.  
"Good luck!"

"Erm..thanks ?"


End file.
